Dear New Mexicans,
Through our advocacy for NM teachers and parents, we have been able to see more clearly what is happening regarding gender and transgender in NM schools. We wanted to make you aware of what is happening in case this is of interest to you. As always, our focus is on what is best for the children, now and in the long term in their lives.
The following questions are important to consider about the gender and transgender presentations now being given in NM schools (described below):
When children have not yet gone through sexual maturation, or completed the development of their brains and neurological systems (including full development of understanding consequences) are they equipped to make gender decisions that can impact their whole lives?
Is God or Nature now making many more "mistakes" of having humans born into the "incorrect" gender biologically? This seems implied by asking all children to question their gender identification at an early age.
Is it appropriate for children to be prescribed gender-transitioning puberty blockers, hormones, and/or surgeries given that these will induce permanent, irreversible changes on the developing body and have many known long-term adverse health risks (including venous thromboembolism, fractures, cardiovascular disease, stroke, osteoporosis, and hormone-dependent cancers)?
SIDE NOTE: The prevalence of these issues in NM schools is one reason some parents are now considering home schooling, hybrid schooling, and school coops. These are not easy choices and each family's needs or situation is different. If you would like to find out more about the New Mexico Freedoms Alliance Home School Support Group, please email Melanie at 4theChildren@protonmail.com.
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GENDER SUPPORT PLAN MEETINGS, TEACHERS, AND TRAINING
Here are some things that have been happening in NM schools:
Abq Public Schools has been having Gender Support Plan meetings with students without notifying parents. When children decide to change gender, teachers are then being told to comply with supporting the children's new gender, and NOT to tell the parents about it. The Gender Support Plan meetings are not counseling sessions. They are meetings with the student, counselor, teacher, and district rep.
A teacher in Santa Fe was reprimanded by the principal for not using "they/them" pronouns for a student.
A teacher in Albuquerque sent a letter to all staff and parents of students informing them that she was "non-binary" and should be addressed as "they/them". This same teacher also wrote notes on the board instructing students to use "they/them" pronouns when referring to the teacher.
At an NM educational conference presented by Head 2 Toe, there was much discussion of how teachers needed to handle trans issues in the classroom (complying with pronoun changes, etc). This material will be presented to educators around the state.
------------------------------------ UNGENDERING LANGUAGE PRESENTATION You may also be interested to see the content of a presentation that was given to 9th grade students at NM School of the Arts public school in Santa Fe. This presentation was specifically funded by the state of NM under Governor Lujan Grisham. In this presentation, the use of the usual pronouns and titles (he, she, Mom, Dad, Mr, Mrs, etc) is being equated with discrimination. The presentation is instead advocating for the use of they/them, parent, nibling, amigue, abuel@, etc. You can download the full presentation here: https://nmfa.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Ungendering-Language-Slides-shareable.pdf You can see annotated snapshots of the presentation below: 👇👇👇
We hope you find this information useful in understanding what is happening at NM schools. Standing with you in solidarity, Sarah, Melanie, and Karen New Mexico Freedoms Alliance National Coalition for Health Integrity